First Phase Restoration of the Eastern Wing of the General Staff Building

2010

The ceremony celebrating completion of first phase restoration of the eastern wing of the General Staff Building was held on 10 December 2010.

The halls of the renovated General Staff Building cover 32.5 thousand m?, of which 6.5 thousand m? is exhibition space which will be used to house the most impressive part of the museum's collection.

The building's foundations were strengthened with 1300 titanium and 3000 ordinary piles. Painstaking work was carried out on drying and waterproofing the building and on cleaning the windows from fungal infections and mould. Then finishing work was carried out.

During restoration works, the facades were cleaned which returned the interior courtyards to their historical light grey colour.

Some rooms were restored and historical paintings, which had been discovered when the plaster was being repaired, partly recreated by fine art restorers from INTARSIA LLC.

26 historic stoves and fire places, historical wooden doors, laminate parquet in the halls and coping stone in the corridors were restored and frames and window sills were renovated. Wooden shutters were made and installed on the windows. In a number of rooms the historical arches were strengthened and parts of the walls and door openings were placed in metal cages.

The former household yards of the Ministry buildings were turned into entrance atriums. Their flat roofs are covered with glass and metal, making them invisible from below.